Gore Addresses Climate, Economy At Iowa Fundraiser

This story was written by Nick Hasty, Iowa State Daily

DES MOINES Everything from the climate and alternative energy to the economic crisis was discussed by former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Al Gore.

Gore was the keynote speaker at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner, which was a campaign and fundraising event for the Iowa Democratic Party. Some other speakers included Gov. Chet Culver and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. The event was held to gain support for Democratic candidates in the upcoming elections.

Gore talked point-by-point about different issues that were all connected. He started with the economic crisis which erupted two weeks ago.

This administration has deregulated and completely failed in its responsibilities to keep competence in the financial system. John McCain has supported their policies 95 percent of the time, Gore said. Just two weeks ago he said the fundamentals of the economy are strong.

Gore moved on to talk about the climate crisis. He mentioned the Iowa floods this summer exceeded the 500-year flood, and places such as Africa, Mexico and India have had floods that exceeded the same mark. He claimed the climate problems today are the cause of these floods.

The scientists have warned us for years, Gore said.

Gore said he has studied the climate for 40 years, and has worked on it for 30.

He expressed the problems with being dependent on foreign fuel and how its tied to everything from national security to the environment. He described this dependence on oil as a thread which runs through every other problem. His solution was to develop renewable energy resources such as sun, wind and geothermal in Iowa.

Grab on to that thread and pull it, Gore said. And all those crises begin to unravel and youll find that we have the answer to every single one of them right in our hands.

He said the $700 billion bailout bill costs about the same as the annual cost of foreign oil.

We are spending that much every single year on foreign oil, Gore said.

He also spoke of the need for a change in our government.

We need new leadership, and we need direction, guys, Gore said.

He said not too many years from now, future generations are going to look back on the first years of the 21st century and ask one of two questions. The first question is, What in the world were they thinking? The second question is, How did the they find the moral courage to rise and successfully solve a crisis that some people thought was impossible?

He closed his speech urging the audience to elect candidates across the Democratic ticket.

Political will is a renewable resource, Gore said.